Saki Fantasy Mahjong
by nightsentinel09
Summary: In a world where mahjong is more akin to a system of magic than a game. Where the unrelated effects in the anime world is reality... how will our beloved characters fair? A retelling of the Saki story with a fantasy twist.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** No Saki does not belong to me. I am just borrowing Ritz-sensei characters because I'm horribly bored waiting for Teru next week. Hopefully, she'll say something other than ron, pon, chi and tsumo. If not hope, I hope the members of Shiraitodai will have some interaction or lines.

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

_"Very pretty!" said Gandalf. "But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."_

_ "I should think so-in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and I have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them," said our Mr Baggins -_

Miyanaga Saki stopped reading - a sakura petal had fallen on the book. Looking up, she saw many more petals falling toward the ground. As her eyes tracked the petals dancing with the wind, she become aware of her surroundings.

The sun has reached the zenith of its climb and is now showering the grassy fields with its bright light. A nearby river is singing merrily as it passes by the bridge. She could feel the tell tale touch of the breeze beginning to pick up.

Saki wondered if this is what the Shire looked like at the morning of Gandalf and Bilbo's meeting. The flow of the world peaceful with a tang of excitement in the air, as the land waits for the main actors to enter the stage. Now, the question is when will Gandalf and Bilbo arrive?

Or are they already here just waiting to meet? Perhaps even, she was unwittingly playing as one of them?

As the absurd thought crossed her mind, Saki almost laughed. The thought of her as a main character in an epic fantasy filled her with amusement. If there is one thing, she was sure that will not happen it's that. The spring air was probably making her see patterns, which is not there – after all spring is the season of beginnings.

Brushing the petal and her wild musing away, Saki prepared to go back to reading when a movement by the other side of the bridge caught her attention.

A girl was crossing the bridge, which is ordinary enough, but this girl was anything but ordinary – she is simply **too beautiful**. With lustrous locks of pink hair, a creamy white complexion and one of the most well endowed chest Saki has ever seen, the girl is a treat to the eyes. However, it was not the girl's physical features that astounded Saki.

What astounded her was the girl's aura. It gave the feeling that everything is all right in the world. The sun will always go up every morning and set every afternoon without fail. Every rock you throw will fall down. Such a strong and comforting presence … Saki almost stretched her own aura to touch …

Saki's own aura was only a hair breath away from the girl's, when stranger deigned to look at her direction which effectively snapped Saki back to reality. Realizing her staring toward the girl was a gross breach of conduct, Saki immediately grabbed the book sitting on her lap and used it to cover her face. Then, she pretended to read, flipping the pages here and there.

Luckily, the girl did notice anything amiss and calmly walked toward her destination.

"Pweww... " Saki exhaled, the moment the girl was safely out of sight immediately dropping the pretense, her mind zeroing on the mysterious girl.

"Who is she?" Saki thought to herself. She was wearing the same uniform so she must also be a freshman. Though, she must not be on the same class as Saki or else she would have noticed her before. Still,the mysterious girl must also be a freshman so it would be easy to meet her and then…

Saki's thoughts grounded to a halt and her excitement dropped. After meeting the mysterious girl, what then?

She cannot imagine an approach wherein she does not sound like a crazy stalker. How will she introduce herself?

_Hello, you are one of the most beautiful person I have ever seen and I just want to meet you. _

Saki could only imagine the girl's reaction if she ever said that. Saki and the girl will most likely die of embarrassment if that happens.

Besides, the girl probably has not noticed her at all. Someone sitting besides the riverbank reading does not leave a lasting impression. It is a perfectly normal thing to do. And that is what Saki is - normal and average which is exactly the way she likes it.

Calmed down, Saki once again looked at the book that she was supposed to be reading and remembered her earlier musings. It really seemed like fate has a wicked sense of humor. One moment she was musing about the current scenery seems to be fitting for a fantasy series then she sees a mysterious girl that would be at home in it. Chuckling to herself, she wondered if the mysterious girl would be the one playing the wise old wizard?

If that is the case, the only one that was missing will be Bilbo. Bilbo comfortable in his hole who was about to have his world turned upside-down. She suddenly felt a great kinship for the old hobbit, dragged out of his life just because he said good morning to the aged wizard. She wondered if it would be better for Bilbo if the fateful meeting have never taken place. It certainly would lessen the old hobbit's future suffering for sure. In any case, she certainly won't be making that mistake, fate would have to find another Bilbo or try harder.

Glad to have made a resolution, Saki would have began reading when a masculine voice called out from behind her.

"Saki!"

Turning around Saki watched a boy with blond hair ran toward her. It was Suga Kyoutaro, her classmate from middle school.

"I finally found you." The boy panted out coming to rest under the shade of the tree.

After regaining his breath, he asked, "Why are you here? If someone had not seen you walking toward the bridge, I would have never known where to look."

Saki thought the answer was obvious.

"I was reading."

"Why go here and not the library?" The boy undeterred by the excuse.

Saki considered the question. Logically the library should be the perfect place to read except for one glaring problem – the library of Kiyosumi High was filled with students. It seemed that the students of Kiyosumi High were the diligent sort which is to be expected considering the grade required to enter and the academic curriculum enforced. Though, it's not rowdy or anything, in fact the library was quiet and peaceful… its just…

"… uncomfortable for me in the library." Saki answered.

Hearing that answer, Kyoutaro just sighed.

"Kyou-chan, do you want something?", The bookworm wanting to end this line of discussion asked her friend.

"Let's go to the cafeteria," the boy unexpectedly said.

Saki was confused was there something important happening in the cafeteria.

"Cafeteria? Why?"

"The ladies' lunch menu at the cafeteria looked specially tasty today." Kyou-chan said with a big grin and a thumbs-up to Saki.

And here she was thinking it was something serious. Its now Saki's turn to sigh. That was why Kyou-chan looked for her? Saki was about to say no when she noticed how much her friend is sweating and how he was leaning on the tree. He must have scoured the whole school looking for her…

"Let's go to the cafeteria", Saki weakly grumbled.

* * *

Carrying her friends ladies' lunch special, our bookworm was beginning to get annoyed. There are so many students in the cafeteria and she was having a hard time looking for Kyou-chan. She cannot distinguish his transparent aura in this mess. Worse yet, packed in close quarters the auras of each student mingled with each other giving her a mild headache.

"Here!" Kyou-chan waved as she directed her to their table.

Relieved to have spotted her friend, Saki hurried to the table. Then, she proceeded to dump the tray with a heavy thud.

"Here's your ladies' lunch."

"Thank you ~."

"I can't believe you only asked me to come to the cafeteria to order this for you."

"But the ladies' lunch looked tasty today." Kyou-chan enthusiastically dug in

Looking at her unrepentant friend who was happily eating his food Saki felt her irritation melt away.

" Kyou-chan, don't use me like that," Saki said without any real heat in her voice as she took her seat on the table.

Whether her friend heard her was to be debated as Kyou-chan practically inhaled the food. Saki watched in amazement as the boy swallowed one bite after another without needing to chew.

"You are really hungry huh?" Saki asked after Kyou-chan has swallowed the last bite.

"Yeah, I haven't eaten breakfast yet and someone decided they need to read in a weird location".

"I didn't know you're going to look for me," Saki defended. "Besides, I haven't seen you for weeks now. You said you found the girl of your dreams and you're planning to confess."

At the question, Kyou-chan got a blissful look on his face. Making a weird laugh, he said, "Yup I found a treasure trove of beauties ku ku ku …"

Hearing that laugh, Saki knew that her friend was on la la la land again. Sighing once again, Saki poked him a bit to bring him back to reality.

"Have you confessed yet?" Saki asked gently knowing Kyou-chan's track record with the opposite sex.

"No, but I have found a perfect way to make her like me."

Kyou-chan with his eyes, flashing declared. "I'm learning mahjong."

"Oh?"

Kyou-chan deflated a bit from Saki's weak response, "You know I'm expecting you to be more excited."

"But, everyone learns about mahjong during high school. One of the subject that we were taking now is Mahjong 101 isn't it?"

"No! No! No!" the boy emphatically declared. "What I'm talking about isn't theoretical mahjong; I'm talking about the practical side. You know manipulations of energy and real life battles, the ones we saw in TV?"

"Here, I'll give you a demonstration," her friend, said. To an outside observer, Kyoutaro just closed his eyes for an instant. However, Saki can feel him tapping to the flow of energy and gathering it to his fist.

"Alright, here it goes." Kyoutaro raised his fist up in the air.

On the other hand, Saki was paralyzed.

_ A red haired girl raised her fist on the air causing a vortex of air and energy to swirl in the atmosphere. With one swift motion the red haired girl punched in Saki's direction causing the vortex to move into Saki's direction.  
_  
A loud smack rang into the air.

The table proved itself stronger than Kyou-chan's fist.

"Ouch! ," the boy yelped cradling his throbbing hand.

Saki released the energy that she was instinctively gathering with a sigh of relief. What was she thinking Kyou-chan isn't her sister there was no need to actively prepare a defensive array against him...

The boy oblivious to her thoughts was ranting, " Owie.. my hand... What did I do wrong, I'm pretty sure I finally managed to remember all the yaku so the energy pattern should be right…"

Feeling guilty about her aborted course of action, Saki tried to reassure her friend, "You didn't do anything wrong. You had the correct form - the mana here is just a bit scarce and wilder compared to a proper battleground so you weren't able to gather enough and mold it properly. To be able to gather mana in an ordinary place one must put ten times more effort and time. "

Finished explaining, Saki was surprised to see Kyou-chan watching her closely.  
After a few unnerving moments the boy finally asked, "You know mahjong?"

Saki realized she have said too much. True, they were studying mahjong at school now; however, as first years it was just basic memorization of terms and history. Practical mahjong comes after they have covered that and what she just spouted was advanced theory on how to do mahjong without proper equipment.

There is no use crying over spilled milk though, her friend deserved an answer.

"I can do mahjong. But, my result on the potential test was pretty average."

Saki hoped that what she said was discouraging enough that Kyou-chan would drop this line of discussion. She was confused when the boy eyes glinted at her answer.

"You tend to be average at everything, Saki. But, I guess you're better than nobody at all… why don't you come with me to the mahjong club?"

"Ehh? Why? I'm no good at mahjong."

"We don't have enough members so please come just for today." Kyou-chan put on a pleading impression.

Saki was about to say no when she recalled Kyou-chan expression when he mentioned the mahjong club. He looked happy. How curious, she never thought using mahjong can give anyone happiness quite the opposite in fact.

Besides, it would not hurt to check out the mahjong club if there was any sort of danger to it. After all, Kyou-chan was one of the few people that are close to her.

"Just for today."

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Have you guys wondered what will happen if all those special effects we saw in canon is actually real? And when I meant real in the sense that they can affect reality itself. Well in this story it will be...

So what that does this mean for everyone. Well, for one the monster players would have reality hacks.

For example:

Koromo's no tenpai ability will literally drown other people.

Toki will literally see a few seconds into the future.

And everyone will have rpg costume like the imaginary sequences in the original Saki.


	2. The Mahjong Club

**Disclaimer **: No I don't own Saki and never will. I'm just killing time by borrowing Ritz-sensei's characters.

* * *

**Chapter I - The Mahjong Club**

"Miyanaga-san, according to the tests you can possibly become a mahjong practitioner in the future, do you want my recommendation to apply to Kazekoshi?" the kindly school councilor asked the shy student.

"Ummm... I've already chosen Kiyosumi, most of my classmates are going there, besides my score for mahjong is about average to the norm for my age, right?" the girl shifting nervously under her gaze replied.

"Even if you only scored average, there are only a 1 out of a hundred that can become mahjong practitioner you know... scoring anything at all on the test is a great accomplishment," the councilor explained patiently.

Seeing that the brunette doesn't seem to be enthused with the idea, she tried again, "You should develop your talent and going to a good school is the first step toward it. Who knows maybe I'll even see you in the national stage."

Unfortunately, that comment has the opposite effect causing the girl to visibly deflate even more.

"But, I don't want to fight..." the girl whispered softly.

Ahh, the aged woman thought so that's why she's having a lot of trouble with this one, most students were usually enthused to discover that they can become mahjong practitioner.

She tried again, "Miyanaga-san, though most practitioners know how to fight it isn't necessary. Only a select few can actually muster a good combat skill for it to be needed militarily. Most use their mahjong skills as an extra advantage in their professions. "

But her argument seem to have gone to one ear and out another for the girl remained stubborn, "Gomen... but, I want to go to Kiyosumi, my friend is going and its near my house so it will be easier for me."

"You're sure? I don't think Kiyosumi even have a mahjong club."

A short nod was her only answer.

"Very well then. Kiyosumi it is."

"Here take this," she said handing the girl a small black ball which on contact with the girl's skin emitted a soft glow. "As you know that amount of glow shows that you have about average potential for a mahjong player your age."

For some reason, this only disheartened the girl, so trying to lighten up the atmosphere, the woman added, "Its actually funny when we connected it to a reader your score is the exact mean for last year survey of high school student."

Her good humor was lost on the the shy student though, who stiffened more and seemed to become more resolute after that last comment. "I really don't deserve this sensei," Miyanaga-san softly said refusing the gift.

She inwardly sighed, trying to get this girl to relax is taxing, "Don't worry about it, we give this to anyone who showed the slightest mahjong potential so don't think you're getting special treatment. This way even those who don't go to a mahjong club can develop their skills. All you have to do is meditate on this ball everyday and try to make the ball glow more."

Staring at the ball for a while, Miyanaga-san finally said, "Arigato sensei."

"I suppose that ends our session, do you have any more questions regarding your future aspirations?"

After some hesitation, the girl finally asked, "You said that my potential is about average for mahjong players my age but its already something extraordinary? Umm... What exactly is normal to get when you test using this?"

Maybe she is finally getting what a wonderful gift she has, the councilor inwardly thought. Outwardly she said, "Why normally you get nothing at all... not even the slightest glow just pitch black. As I've said you're gifted Miyanaga-san, it would be a waste if you don't develop it. Do you have any more questions to ask?" The girl shook her head... " Well this ends the session. I hope that I have been able to help you."

"You have sensei...," then bowing deeply, Miyanaga-san softly said "Gomenasai" before taking her leave. Unnoticed in the girl's hand the soft glow that the ball is emitting slowly vanished without a trace.

**- Final Advising Session between Miyanaga Saki and her Middle School Councilor.**

* * *

"Welcome to the Mahjong Club!" Kyoutaro proudly proclaimed as he opened the door to a building.

Looking at the building that her friend led her into, Saki felt a pit open up in her stomach. To put it frankly the building was eerie – its so old that its a wonder that it isn't already demolished. The broken window panes and the small dents at the side of the building wasn't exactly confidence inspiring either.

But, the building appearance wasn't the main reason for Saki's unease. The moment the door was opened, she could feel the energy inside the building... or perhaps its more accurate to say how much energy the place have. Just from her rough estimate the building has a hundred times more energy than normal. Why with this amount of energy it will be so easy to set something off...

Not for the first time, Saki felt that agreeing to go to the Mahjong club was a bad idea, not that she thought that it was a good idea in the first place. The only reason that she agreed is to see if her friend is safe and just by the environment of the club the idea is becoming unlikely by the minute.

Speaking of Kyoutaro does he know about this? Looking at her friend's eager face, Saki quickly dismissed the idea. Kyou-chan may be a bit impulsive but he will never willingly walk in a disaster area much less invite her to a place that could potentially be dangerous. It seems like her friend is being deceived after all. She should have expected this the moment the boy have said that mahjong is fun. There is only one thing to do.

"Kyou-chan, the building is dangerous, it ... " she began but before Saki finished her warning, the boy sighed interrupting her.

"I'm ashamed of you, Saki. I know the building looks a bit suspicious but you of all people should know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

"This is different – ", our resident bookworm tried to object, but whatever she was about to say was halted when the boy simply stepped toward the threshold before she can even complete her sentence. To her horror, the energy began to swirl around Kyoutaro while he stood there without a single barrier of protection. Worried for her friend Saki was about to forcefully yank him out of the death trap of a building when she noticed the boy smiling slyly.

The smile that Kyou-chan usually make when he want to make grand presentation of himself or play a trick made her hesitate for a bit. He looks so sure standing there perhaps he isn't in danger after all. He is probably going to cast a protective spell inside using the ambient energy to make it easier. Calming down Saki thought wryly to herself, really he should have told her before plunging directly like that, he almost gave her a heart attack.

Unfortunately, Saki's optimistic thoughts about her friend was not to be.

Making a show of stomping his feet toward the ground and without a single attempt to mold the dangerous energy around him, her childhood friend grinned, "See, the floor is solid as a rock, its perfectly safe here."

Saki just stared.

"Oh come on, don't think I haven't noticed your worrying yourself to death the moment you saw the building. You probably thought it was going to come down on our head, huh?"

Stomping the floor a few times and then kicking the wall for a good measure, the boy continued, "This place can take more than a few beating so don't worry. Here, I'll even lead the way." The boy then stomped his way all across the room toward the staircase totally oblivious to Saki's true worries.

'He didn't notice?' Saki thought. Looking at the boy happily stomping and the energy happily swirling around him but not interacting with him in anyway, Saki concluded that Kyou-chan is totally unaware of the supernatural phenomena happening.

But how is that possible? Even if he didn't notice shouldn't there be some sort of clash between his aura and the flow of energy? At the very least, he should have felt some sort of pressure... Saki stared at the decrepit building doubtfully, could there be something special about this building?

To test this hypothesis, Saki tentatively moved closer to the door and poked the energy. At a split second, the energy flowed through her from the point of contact invigorating her body. Shocked at what happened, she quickly removed her finger away as if burned.

Still she wasn't quick enough for when she examined her ring finger - it was glowing from the absorbed energy. Well there goes one guess, sighing to herself she expelled the energy without a second thought toward the ground causing a small singe mark to appear. That won't do at all, Saki thought looking at the singe mark and with a gesture the singe mark disappeared.

This is odd… the energy here is too easily absorbed, its not inert like she expected like when Kyou-chan passed through. As it stands right now, if she goes inside the energy will go haywire. How did he managed to pass through this without even trying? Perhaps she confusedly mused, she was right the first time and her friend has truly become a really good practitioner without her noticing?

The faint stomping of her friend's feet which is already above the stairs snapped her out of her musings. That's right her friend is waiting for her... regardless of whether he has become really good of a practitioner or not, she made a promise to help him with this for just one day. And she refuse to break another promise ever again... her lips frowned reflexively at the mere thought of breaking a promise. Even if it is about mahjong, perhaps especially if it is about mahjong.

Anyway, its just one day after all and friends do things that they don't like for their other friends, right? This is just one of those things she told herself. So that left only one thing to do. Calling on the her largely suppressed personal energy, she used it to make a form fitting shell around herself. Hoping she did it right, she once again tried to poke the energy at the doorway with her finger. This time the energy didn't respond. Success, she thought to herself.

"Now for the real thing," Saki said as she hesitantly entered the building. To her relief, the shell held out and the energy in the building remained calm as if she wasn't there. There one problem down, now to find Kyou-chan. He was going up the stairs a few minutes ago, she better follow him.

* * *

Saki was already at the top of the stairs when a soft polite voice called her attention.

" ... a guest?"

Turning to the voice direction, she saw the pink headed beauty that she observed this afternoon sitting on one of the comfy chairs in the corner of the room. Of course, the mysterious girl is going to be a mahjong practitioner too. The bookworm inwardly grumbled to herself. So much for her resolution on not meeting the girl.

Come to think of it, could this girl be Kyou-chan's dream girl? The pinkette is certainly pretty enough to qualify and knowing her friends type the pinkette's blessed assets would be a welcome bonus.

A soft cough, made her realize that she was staring at the said blessed assets. Mortified, Saki could feel her face burn as she attempted to explain her faux pas, "Umm … gomen... I was surprised to see you here."

The mystery girl only raised an eyebrow in response at her lame attempt for an explanation. "Umm... just this morning, I saw you passing through the bridge... I didn't expect to see you so soon," the bookworm tried again.

Miraculously the mystery girl seems to have understood her, "Ahh... you're the one reading by the bridge?"

Saki gave a brief nod of confirmation and elaborated why she was intruding on the building, "I was looking for Kyou-chan..."

"Suga-kun will be here shortly. Please, make yourself at home," the pinkette rose up from her chair as proper etiquette demands when she is greeting a guest and pointed at a chair opposite to the one she is sitting on, "Have a sit."

As Saki went to the chair pointed, she wondered about the chances that the mystery girl would actually remember her? It is a relief because it saves Saki from making anymore awkward conversation, but it is also worrying because the bookworm didn't think she did anything to stood out when she and the girl first met. To be able to remember a passing scenery just like that means the girl has very good observational skills.

The mystery girl then began to busy herself by preparing some tea.

Saki, on the other hand, took her seat and observed her host once more, this time being careful to keep her gaze on the girl's face which is actually not very hard to do all things considered.

If this is the one Kyou-chan is pursuing, she definitely approves – not only is the girl easy on the eyes, but just by looking at the girl's clear and steady aura she knows that the girl is also a good and honest person who is unlikely to lead her friend astray.

Speaking of aura, the mystery girl's aura was a bit subdued now compared to when she last saw her but like Kyou-chan's doesn't seem to be interacting with the surrounding energy of the place. Maybe it is some sort of technique taught to all club members? Mahjong practitioners who fight must be really high level then, Saki concluded.

"Please have some tea," the pinkette handed Saki a cup of steaming tea ending her brief contemplation. The bookworm promptly sipped the tea and found it to her liking. It tastes very light and has a small undertone of sweetness to it.

"This tea taste delicious. Thank you," The bookworm said to express gratitude to the mystery girl's hospitality.

The girl deflected the compliment merely stating, "It was made from special herbs that Mako-sempai brought. It gives the tea a sweet flavor."

After a couple more of light conversation Kyou-chan finally arrived. He was carrying four large metallic circles on one hand. "Oh good, Saki you're here. I thought for a second you chickened out."

"Waa... Kyou-chan you're mean, you know I always keep my promise," the bookworm pouted.

The pinkette visibly perked up as soon as she saw the rings and asked, "Oh... are you a mahjong practitioner as well?"

"I do know how to use mahjong but I'm not really familiar with the sport version," Saki honestly answered.

"Don't worry about that Saki, you're going to be in good hands, Nodoka here is the middle school individual champion."

"Is that good?," the bookworm innocently asked.

"Of course its good, how can you not know that?" Her friend exclaimed, dismayed by the lack of knowledge her answer revealed.

But, before he can go on a tirade about how awesome the mystery girl is, he was interrupted by an energetic girl that literally zipped through the corridor.

"I'm back!", the pint sized bundle of energy announced.

And out of the blue the energetic girl made a beeline toward Saki's personal space spouting praises for the pinkette, "Nodoka is really amazing. She won the middle school individual championship which meant that she is the best."

**_The best _**the word echoed through Saki's head blurring the rest of the energetic girl's tirade. There is only one person that the bookworm has ever associated with that word.

_Could this person be similar to her Onee-chan? _Saki's heart raced while her aura lashed violently clashing beside the shell that she formed to stop it from interacting with the volatile energy in the room almost breaking it. Almost.

Calm down, Saki thought to herself. It's too early to be excited. Nothing is confirmed yet. Still, Saki finds her eye wandering to the now revealed middle school champion.

Unmindful of her audience distraction, the energetic girl continues, "- And what's more her parents are a public prosecutor and a lawyer! And she's popular with the boys!."

The pinkette, on the other hand, has progressively grown exasperated from the glowing praises and had enough, "Yuuki! I'm sure our guest isn't interested to know that."

Then, with a quickness that was born from need to change the subject she turned to Kyou-chan, "Suga-kun, is the transformation rings already calibrated?"

"Of course, I've done the calibration myself," the boy said proudly waving the huge rings hanging on his arm.

Saki wanting to join the conversation asked, "Transformation rings?"

Her friend sighed, "Don't tell me, you don't know about the transformation rings too, Saki?" Seeing the bookworm shake her head, "What do you think allows the mahjong practitioners to do those complex spells that they do in the competitions?"

But, couldn't you already do those normally? She want to ask but stayed silent to avoid upsetting the boy again.

Seeing that the newcomer was not getting it the pinkette continued Kyou-chan's explanation, "The transformation rings allows the practitioner to connect to the purified mana that surrounds the mahjong arena and it also gives them certain protection. Here I'll demonstrate."

"First you have to concentrate on the ring."

Taking one of the rings from Kyou-chan the pinkette stared intently at it.

To Saki's eye she could see the pinkette's aura slowly enclose the ring and then the ring suddenly dematerialize and cover middle school champion's body making it glow. After the glow faded, the girl is now wearing a pure white flowing gown with a white headband to hold her hair.

The energetic girl continued the explanation , "After the transformation you give your name to confirm it like what Nodo-chan will do."

True to her cue, the transformed middle school champion softly stated, "Haramura Nodoka entering battle mode confirmed."

"Now, its my turn next! Watch how awesome I am!", the energetic girl swiftly took one of the rings before Kyou-chan could object and in a split second the ring also dematerialized and covered the energetic girl's body.

This time the result is different, a leather outfit with rugged pants and a thin shirt that only reached her belly button- the energetic girl truly looks like a thief class straight from a fantasy game.

She gave a cheeky salute and said, "Katoaka Yuuki, reporting for duty."

"My turn," the only boy of this party also used the transformation ring and in a second he is also in an outfit reminiscent of a swordsman from a generic MMORPG. "Suga Kyoutaro is also here."

Kyou-chan then handed one of the transformation rings to her, "Here Saki, you should try it too."

Looking at the transformation ring, Saki wondered if she should try it. It occurred to her that she could just walk away from this with no one the wiser at all. She could easily avoid letting her aura touch the ring after all.

But, she did gave her word and to be honest her new acquaintances is growing on her. Looking at their eager faces she doesn't want to betray their expectation.

Besides, there is Haramura-san... her heart clenched at the possibilities that she represented. And after so long without a single hope, Saki knew that she would not be able to stop herself from chasing this unexpected windfall. Chuckling to herself, she guessed that her decision is already decided then.

Saki gently pushed her aura in the ring and she was instantly covered with light. In a split instant she could feel the mana gathering around her and becoming solid.

When, the light died down she looked at her new outfit – she was wearing a thick white concealing cloak with silver trimmings that covered every part of her. Inside, she could feel the cold touch of metal which she intimately know to be chains running around her body.

Remembering what she is supposed to do, she gave a soft bow to her current companions - until she can have her answer she's committed to this path for now.

"My name is Miyanaga Saki. Please take care of me."

* * *

**Author Notes: **

First of all I would like to thank** Evil Detective** for reminding me that yes I really need to update my fic. Its no exaggeration that I would probably haven't updated without her kind prompting. I would also like to thank her for the taste testing she has done. :D

To all those who have reviewed you have my thanks from the bottom of my heart especially to **Ksakep, Victorpresti, Kiukun-nadralexe, EXpertUS** and** Faded flight.** Of course, I'm also thankful to those who anonymously reviewed.

To those who are following this and put a favorite on it. Thank you for taking the time to do so. I'm very glad to know that someone is actually reading this. :D

Anyway, next chapter is going to be the mahjong battle.


	3. Erroneous Beginnings

**Disclaimer** : I don't own Saki. Nor am I making any money in writing this story. Now, that is out of the way let's get on with this.

* * *

**Saki Fantasy Mahjong**

**Chapter II**

**Erroneous Beginnings**

* * *

When the door opened and the Kiyosumi mahjong club's battleground was revealed, Saki didn't know what she expected but certainly not this.

Where are the floating debris and the tall spires of rock to make fighting difficult? The pointy spines jutting on the ground? The hostile creatures that punish those who don't pay attention to their surrounding? The quicksand-like ground that discourage anyone from staying at one place for long?

Intellectually, Saki knew that each battleground arena was prepared differently and she shouldn't be surprised if the Kiyosumi battle ground was different from the ones they have at home. But, she was expecting a few obstacles at least - not this. Because the battleground – _if it is a battleground _that the bookworm was looking at was just a huge room that contains nothing – absolutely nothing. There's not a single furniture in sight. All Saki could see was an endless sea of gleaming tiles covering every inch of the room.

Though, Saki has to admit the place was certainly an impressive sight - reminding the bookworm of the futuristic labs in the books she read. But a place where a mahjong fight can happen it certainly was not. Because even without the obstacles, there should at least be some reinforcement on the structure. Without any reinforcement how exactly can one even fight here? Unless, that strange energy permeating the place can shield the whole room - any serious mahjong fight that happens would transform the whole place into one big smoking crater.

A soft knocking on her head brought her to reality.

"This is Earth calling Saki. Earth to Saki. Hello is anyone there?"

Surprised, the bookworm turned around to see Kyou-chan wearing an exasperated expression on his face. From behind him, Saki could see Haramura-san maintaining a polite distance and Kataoka-san busy munching some taco.

"You were in la-la land again, Saki. I was calling you for quite a while now. "

"Sorry Kyou-chan, I was just a bit surprised when I saw the place."

Her friend, bless his heart, accepted the apology without hesitation.

"I don't blame you; I was a bit awed when I saw this too. It's certainly more impressive than on TV. This is the first time you're seeing a battleground in person right? "

"Iee... I've seen a few battlegrounds before... "

But before she can finish her sentence, the pint sized thief has finished eating her lunch and had literally zipped with amazing speed in front of her.

"You've seen other battlegrounds?! How does ours compare?"

"..."

A beat of silence followed this question as Saki contemplated how to answer without lying through her teeth. Thankfully for the bookworm the energetic girl misunderstood her hesitation.

"Ho ho … speechless with wonder? I knew it – our greatness blew you away! " Puffing her chest, Katoaka-san continued. "You must have been so surprised to see a modern battleground here, right? But, what you're seeing is the real deal! Kiyosumi's battleground is updated to the max! This place could easily do all the house rules in mahjong without a single error. In fact - "

"Yuuki, stop invading Miyanaga-san's personal space."

That was Haramura-san to the rescue.

"Aww, Nodo-chan. It's the first time someone actually managed to recognize our greatness you know."

"I understand you're happy Yuuki, but Miyanaga-san is a guest and it's not polite to waste her time like this."

"Saki-chan is fine with it. Right?"

And with that all the attention shifted to the brunette again.

"Please don't worry, I think what Kataoka-san was saying is interesting."

Grinning widely, the thief slung her arms around the brunette and said. "See, Nodo-chan. Saki-chan agrees with me."

Relenting, Haramura-san asked again, "Is it really alright?"

Feeling overwhelmed and not wanting to cause any tension to what obviously were two good friends, Saki could only give a weak nod giving a tacit permission to pursue the topic. The brunette was resigned to another enthusiastic speech from Kataoka-san, but it was the pinkette who spoke. "To be honest, I'm also curious about how our battleground compares with others."

"Isn't it obvious, ours is obviously the best!" Kataoka-san asserted.

Ignoring the thief, Haramura-san continued. "It would be nice to have some objective outside perspective regarding this matter." Then, the pinkette turned to the brunette with eager eyes making it clear who the objective outside perspective is.

Sighing a bit, Saki quickly looked through the open doorway to the so called battleground again and back to the Kiyosumi club members who were eagerly waiting for her judgment.

"It's certainly is different from the other battlegrounds I have seen." - Which is perfectly true. This is the most unique battleground that Saki has ever seen. "But … I am a bit confused about the changes..."

_Like why is there nothing here? _

This was apparently the right thing or perhaps in Saki's case the wrong thing to say.

"Ho! Ho! Ho! You've noticed our modifications Saki-chan?" Kataoka-san asked.

"I guess reading all those musty books were good for something." That was Kyou-chan.

Looking at the surprised faces on the swordsman and the thief, Saki was confused. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that Haramura-san has an intrigued look on her face as well. Did she accidentally call attention to herself again? But, how? She doesn't think it's amazing that she could see the difference between this room and what a proper battleground looks like. Anyone with eyes should be able to tell that. Perhaps they were playing some sort of prank?

No. The brunette doesn't think this is the case here. Even from her admittedly brief impression, Saki doesn't believe that Haramura-san would be the type to joke about these things. Kataoka-san maybe, but the bookworm distinctly heard the note of pride in Kataoka-san's voice when the mahjong club members brought her to their 'battleground'. And Kyou-chan, he was a good friend. The brunette would like to think she recognized him well enough to know when he was lying to her. So that left herself.

For the umpteenth time since she agreed to help Kyou-chan, Saki felt that she was missing something. Very Badly At That.

_Remember Saki, the things that we view as nonsense from another point of view makes perfect sense. _

A hint of warmth. A warm hand gently ruftling her hair.

"Miyanaga-san?"

Saki shook her head.

That's right. Think. No one does something without any reason. And there must be a reason. Always. So what would cause anyone to take out all the obstacles in a training room?

A lightbulb lit up on her head.

_Ah... so that's it. I can't believe I didn't see it before._

"It's amazing. You guys are amazing to have thought of this." Saki grinned.

And looked like the bookworm guess was right. Saki could see the quiet pride in Haramura-san's face and even Kyou-chan stood up straighter from her praise. But, it was the bouncing Katoaka-san who has the greatest reaction.

"Saki-chan! I knew you could see our genius!"

Such a boastful statement coming from such a pint sized girl. Still, the brunette could see how it was merited. It's obvious that they took all the obstacles from the room as a test of some sort. Everyone who was at least experienced in even one battle would know that the place was wrong … too easy to fight on and a bit too fragile. But, to those who do not have any sort of experience and whose presence in the field might be suicidal; their inability to see what is wrong would be a telling indicator.

It's definitely a simple but elegant set-up. If Saki could test someone, she would definitely prefer this to the traditional one, which was throwing oneself off a cliff.

Giving the tiles, she was examining a fond pat. "This must have taken a lot of time to set-up."

"You should have seen us at the beginning of the year; we worked day and night without fail to move everything. I could still feel my back breaking, my hand blistering ..." After saying this, Kataoka-san then proceeded to hunch over to the ground as if burdened by the memories.

"Oh really… who was it that ate tacos all day while I did the pushing and back breaking? I can't seem to remember." Kyou-chan mused from behind.

Kataoka-san suddenly glared at her friend. Then without warning the pint sized thief pounced upon the leaning swordsman.

"Dogs shouldn't rebel against their master!"

"Who's the dog?!"

"Die! You mangy mutt!"

A fight devolved from there, Katoaka-san managing to put her friend in a violent suplex.

"Mercy! Mercy!"

Should she try to stop them? They weren't emitting any killing intent, but the fight looked really violent.

"Miyanaga-san, do you want to go inside?"

"Ehh?! Should we really leave them?"

"It's quite alright. This happens all the time." The pinkette reassured her.

Saki was not convinced, but she followed Haramura-san anyway.

* * *

***Saki Fantasy Mahjong***

* * *

Haramura-san led her in the middle of the room. Right smack at the center, Saki could see that it was about the size of a five football fields. A bit small for a normal battleground, which would be another strike against it.

"Please wait for a moment, Miyanaga-san. I'll activate the room."

The pinkette stepped on something causing the nondescript white tile in front of them to move and reveal a hidden compartment. A circular metallic table slowly rose from it, filled with a variety of runes. Haramura-san fiddled a bit with the runes, typing somethings that Saki does not understand. Though, it's certainly doing something, Every time Haramura-san punched something on the futuristic table thing, Saki felt a gust of energy whipping around the room.

'A spell that targets an area?' The bookworm mused quietly. 'Perhaps a teleportation spell towards the real battleground?'

Saki's musing was cut short when Haramura-san finally finished whatever she was doing and stood up. "Everything is properly calibrated Miyanaga-san."

Before, Saki could ask what she meant by that. The room suddenly went pitch black.

"Haramura-san?"

"…."

Haramura-san disappeared.

Saki frowned.

She knows from her other senses that Haramura-san was right next to her. A few steps away at most but the darkness that covered the area were so complete that she was not able to see even an inch from where she was standing.

Just to test, Saki waved her hand in front of her eyes a few times.

As expected, she could see nothing.

'Is this another test or something? Perhaps to test how well one can find the exit in complete darkness? In that case, she should go to Haramura-san's position and then lead both of them out.'

Saki took a step through the pinkette's direction.

Haramura's aural image still shined as bright and calm as ever when she first glimpsed it making the bookworm uneasy. Why isn't she doing anything to hide it?' An illusion, then? The real Haramura-san must be hiding herself while the decoy distracted her. If that is so...

Saki stretched her aura trying to find the real Haramura-san. Yet, even with how she assiduously searched, she could not find her. 'She's really good.' The bookworm thought admiringly. Even Onee-chan will leave some traces for me to track down.

She felt another flare of energy from her right.

There is no time for admiration. The spell that was being build up was almost complete. Saki suspected that once it was finished, she would most likely fail the test.

She faltered.

That was not actually a bad thing, right?

But, Haramura-san.

… was so similar and so close...

Saki immediately shook all those thoughts away. She may have entertained them when she heard about Haramura-san a few moments ago. But, the bookworm knew that these thoughts would lead to nothing but pain for her. Besides, that would not be fair to **them **or Haramura-san...

Her search once again turned up nothing.

Another flare. The spell was only moments away from completion.

Perhaps it was time to give up?

Two auras were approaching their direction. One of them was a familiar well-worn aura.

Kyou-chan...

Yes.

She did promise...

Saki searched for the final time.

Perhaps, she's not up to the standards of this mahjong club, but she wouldn't fail without at least trying... For the sake of her word to Kyou-chan, if nothing else.

This time Saki closed her senses to everything else but what she was searching.

Still nothing. Not a single trace of Haramura-san. If the bookworm did not know any better, she would say that the fake Haramura-san was the real one.

But, every illusion has a weak point.

The clock was ticking. Just a few seconds more.

Saki poured all her concentration to the task. She scoured every particle in the area that her aura could get a hand on.

And yet...

…

Click

Saki heard the mental click.

The spell was complete.

She failed.

Haramura-san was just that good.

She should be seeing the effect of the spell build-up in a few seconds.

'I wonder how they will notify me about my failure…'

The spell began to reach a crescendo.

The lights turned on.

Thousands upon thousands of tiny lights showed themselves.

No, looking closely Saki noticed it wasn't lights but runes. The formerly nondescript tiles were alight with them, like tiny stars wrapped in the inky darkness of the night sky. But, the constellations they formed were anything but accustomed.

A cluster of runes formed itself in the shape of a bird – the familiar Isou. Another formed an stylized Upin, a flowery orchid in the midst of its greatest bloom. Even the humble ipin was represented as a simple circle that blazed with the might of a full moon. And there were more, so much more. At least one for every mahjong rune in existence.

Truly a breathtaking view.

'This must be what it feels to be standing in outer space.' Saki mused quietly to herself. Is this the last thing those who failed the recruitment process sees? Even in one's failure, they can still see a beautiful sight on their way there, huh? Is that what this means?

A smile formed on her face.

If so, Saki's heart was at ease. Kyou-chan will surely do well with these people.

"Miyanaga-san"

The illusionary Haramura-san walked toward her. Saki took a closer look. Really. Haramura-san was really really good. Even at this distance, she can't detect the illusion nor the real Haramura-san controlling it. The illusion stopped in front of the bookworm, perhaps unsure on how to give the bad news.

Saki waited patiently. More than anyone else, she was aware that sometimes not being able to give someone what they want was a harder position than the one who has not received one's desires. Though, in this case, Haramura-san should not be bothered. She has gotten what she sought for when she agreed to come with Kyou-chan and that was more than enough.

"It is over, isn't it?"

"Hai...Please come this way."

The illusion extended her hand.

Saki blinked unsure at that. Ah... so that's how she'll be informed officially. A simple way to show her error she supposed.

Saki extended her hand to clasp the illusionary one.

And met…

A warm _**solid**_ hand.

Saki stared at the unexpectedly real, blue pair of eyes.

* * *

**Saki Fantasy Mahjong**

* * *

She has a gentle grip. That was the first thing Nodoka noticed about her new guest today. Miyanaga-san held her, softly and without any force at all - as if her hand was a fragile thing that would break with a single touch. Nodoka does not know whether she liked it or not.

"Is there something wrong?" Nodoka asked concentrating on her guest's face to distract herself from the warmth of the hand that gripped hers.

Wrong move.

Red.

Burning red.

Nodoka swore those eyes were not as intense when she last glimpsed them.

"Wrong?" Miyanaga-san mouthed the word, tasting it.

Still, no matter how striking Miyanaga-san was, Nodoka would not back down.

"Yes. Some people have a bad experience with this sort of place. Strong flows of energy can cause many side-effects to those unused to it. So, if you have any problems, please let me know."

"Problems huh?"

Miyanaga-san gave a small grin.

"Does believing you're too good to be real, counts?"

Nodoka's heart skipped a beat.

For that she has no parry.

* * *

**Author Notes: **

Cast resurrect.

Yey! This fic is not dead yet or anytime soon.

First, I would like to thank **Soranium. **For his endless help in betaing this thing. If I somehow managed to update the Chapter 3 within the next month, you should give thanks for him. And if I managed to update before Ritz updates, shocking I know, but it can happen. I'll try anyway.

Second, I would also like to thank **Evil detective** for her endless effort in keeping me abreast in the Saki news community. My interest never faded thanks to her tireless effort.

Now, onto the reviews.

You guys would be pleased to know that this fic will be receiving regular updates. "Regular" meaning that the most you guys will have to wait for the update is once a month. As long as Ritz doesn't throw any curveballs from the continuing manga, this will be true.

I really liked your reviews and hope that you will be continuing to do so. To those who noticed the foreshadowing, I did plan quite a bit what will happen. That plan is now canon proof for a good while in this storyline. I can now safely say that the only way Ritz-sensei will derail said plan was to make Saki a secret mass murderer.

I hoped you like this chapter as well. And remember to drop a review even if it's to tell me that you liked it or you hated it.


End file.
